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The Mavericks Rumor Mill: Has Wesley Matthews played his last game for Dallas?

While this might be the slowest time of the NBA season for teams not in the playoffs, that doesn’t mean the NBA rumor mill ever stops churning. The Dallas Mavericks are facing potentially the most important offseason in franchise history with $12.9M in cap room, a potential top-3 draft pick and a rising young point guard salivating at the prospect of the playoffs next year.

Rumor 1 – Has Wesley Matthews played his last game as Maverick?

Dallas received the news today that its shooting guard Wes Matthews will exercise the fourth-year player option of $18 million for the 2018-19 season. While the move was widely expected, it comes with more than a few layers of intrigue for the ninth-year wing. Certainly, Matthews is Dallas’ most valuable trade chip at this point. Here are some more things to consider:

Matthews is now officially an expiring deal and should have a lot of intrigue for teams perhaps looking to add a veteran presence this year while offloading other burdensome contracts (at a price – Dallas will not rent its cap space for nothing) and gaining valuable cap space for the summer of 2019 free agent market.

Sources close to the Mavericks say the team is “shopping hard” to find a suitor for Matthews. Given the situation of several other capped-out and underachieving teams, Matthews could be an interesting fit for the Wizards should they desire to get loose from their own cap situation while the club has several contracts it would like to get out of.

Rumor 2 – How do the Mavs view Mo Bamba in the 2018 draft?

The Mavericks are looking at a very likely top 3 pick in the NBA draft in June and there’s a chance they could even draft No. 1 overall (13.8%). The consensus top pick in the draft and the name atop nearly every team’s draft board at this is most likely Deandre Ayton, who has drawn comparisons to just about every excellent big man the NBA has seen in the last 20 years. Doncic is widely viewed as the consensus No. 2 pick.

However, at spots No. 3 – 5 is where it gets tricky. Opinions range on prospects Mo Bamba (viewed as too soft), Jaren Jackson Jr. (great defender and rebounder, but is prone to serious bouts of foul trouble) and Marvin Bagley (can score at a potentially-elite level and rebounds well, but is a poor free throw shooter who struggled on defense at Duke). Michael Porter Jr. didn’t get a chance his freshman year to show scouts what a fully warmed-up version of himself can do and his back injury will give teams pause.

I mean, when videos like this come out that a big with a 7’9 wingspan and a 9’6 standing reach can hit threes like this, there’s bound to be excitement.

Mo Bamba is working out with @DrewHanlen in LA and appears to have made some adjustments to his shooting mechanics. Here he is knocking down 9 3-pointers in a row. Pretty impressive stuff from a 7-footer with a 7'9 wingspan. Can't wait to get out there and it in person. pic.twitter.com/JT88fZCxQC

While there’s a risk at taking a prospect as raw offensively as Bamba as high as third in the draft, it was easy to see his defensive upside during his time at the University of Texas.

The Mavericks will certainly have a hard choice to make should they end up with the No. 3 pick, but they won’t be short on talent to choose from.

We are now officially 15 days away from the NBA Draft Lottery and a point where a lot of these rumors and ideas will become a little clearer. The Dallas Mavericks are in an enviable position even if the path to this point hasn’t been the prettiest.

Check back to thetrailing3.com for more information and news on Dallas as it becomes available!